Porzingis makes Wizards debut as team prevails over Pacers

Just as the Indiana Pacers were surging, threatening to steal Sunday’s game against the Washington Wizards, center Kristaps Porzingis was there to slam the door shut — and make an entrance of his own.

Porzingis scored dramatic back-to-back baskets in the final possessions of the Wizards’ 133-123 win over the Pacers, marking a perfect cap to his Washington debut.  

With less than two minutes left, forward Deni Avdija found Porzingis for a fast-break alley-oop slam. And after another Pacers score, Porzingis answered with a two-handed dunk to put the game effectively out of reach.

Each basket caused the Capital One Arena crowd to erupt in a frenzy — perhaps cheering louder as a way to welcome the Wizards’ new All-Star to town. Indiana had cut Washington’s lead to as few as three before Porzingis helped stave off the comeback.

Returning from a knee injury, Porzingis scored a team-high 25 points in just 21 minutes after waiting nearly a month to suit up for Washington. The Wizards kept Porzingis on a minutes restriction, but coach Wes Unseld Jr. said he was “pleasantly surprised” by the center’s conditioning after the game.

“We had to be mindful of the stretches that he was going to play, but he handled it well,” Unseld said.

“It felt good,” Porzingis said with a smile. “I was just happy to be done with the individual work and be back out there. It’s not fun to be out and be doing all the conditioning and all that. I’m happy to be out there.”

Sunday was all about Porzingis for Washington. Acquired Feb. 10 at the trade deadline, the 7-foot-3 Latvian scorer’s nagging bone bruise had kept him out since late January.  While Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard said his team would take a patient approach, Porzingis’ absence was magnified by the sudden success from the pieces that Washington gave away in the trade.

After struggling mightily for the Wizards this season, Spencer Dinwiddie and forward Davis Bertans wasted no time in thriving for Dallas — and over the weekend, Dinwiddie took a shot at the organization by telling reporters he was “hurt” by the way his tenure with the team ended. Specifically, Dinwiddie was displeased with how he was portrayed as a poor teammate. The Wizards traded him just months after acquiring him on a three-year, $54 million contract.

Prior to tipoff, Unseld largely sidestepped a question about Dinwddie’s comments and instead redirected the focus back to Porzingis.

“To get something, we had to give up something,” Unseld said.

What the Wizards will actually get from Porzingis in the coming months, however, remains a mystery. Nicknamed “The Unicorn” for his offensive versatility with the New York Knicks, Porzingis did not create the same type of impact in his two-plus seasons with the Mavericks.  While he was still a 20-per-night scorer, he failed to develop strong chemistry with star Luka Doncic. That, combined with a shaky injury history, led the Mavericks to be eager to trade him.

But against the Pacers, Porzignis displayed a diverse skill set — the kind that explains why the Wizards were tempted to take a flyer, albeit one with a max salary, on the 26-year-old.  From the jump, Kuzma found Porzingis on a tip-in lob for the game’s first basket. And Porzingis soon accounted for six of the Wizards’ first eight points.

The Wizards used Porzingis in a variety of ways, too. They had him camp out at the elbow, with the ball passing through him — similar to how Denver, Unseld’s prior stop as an assistant, uses MVP Nikola Jokic. Guards found Porzingis down low in the post on mismatches and on the wing to take advantage of his ability to stretch the floor. And he was involved as a roller, setting hard picks before diving to the basket.

By the end of the game, Porzingis went 7-of-12 from the field — including 3-of-4 from deep.

“There’s a reason they call him ‘The Unicorn,” said forward Kyle Kuzma, who had 23 points. “He’s a hell of a player.”

The contributions didn’t stop there. Porzingis made his presence felt on the defensive end, serving as Washington’s rim protector — much-needed as the Wizards have allowed the 21st-most points per game in the pant this season.  

No play better highlighted that impact than Porzingis’ impressive chase-down block on Indiana’s Oshae Brissett with less than nine minutes to play in the first half. He even almost had two back-to-back blocks, but, in a moment of redemption for the guard, Brissett powered through Porzingis for the slam.

Porzingis, of course, won’t be enough to make the Wizards a threat — especially this season with star Bradley Beal (wrist surgery) out for the year.